DIY - Over, Under, Sideways, Down...Sky High builds an Under Current knockoff

HappyGrower · Sep 22, 2010

Great looking system! Can't wait to see it in full production!

Socachi · Sep 23, 2010

Sky I really hope you stay w the UC now that you have it all cleaned. From seeing what others are doing, Ben, Tex, Jack with it I'm sure yours will do as well. JK is a good source too, he designs these things.
Have you asked them or CC as was previous suggested how to handle cleaning?
Those strainers sound like a good idea too, I'd like to see where they place em.
404 & RMCG thanks for the info.
Socachi

TheBioMaster · Sep 26, 2010

Awsome grow SH!

I have a question, a few pages back someone said that flushing is not needed in a UC type system. I dont understand how you would get the plant to finish and use up all the nutrients and yellow out all the fan leaves if there is a constant supply never ending in the tanks?

I dont see why any system no matter the type would not need flushing....

UCMENOW · Sep 27, 2010

Keep the funk out my UC

TheBioMaster said:
Awsome grow SH!

I have a question, a few pages back someone said that flushing is not needed in a UC type system. I dont understand how you would get the plant to finish and use up all the nutrients and yellow out all the fan leaves if there is a constant supply never ending in the tanks?

I dont see why any system no matter the type would not need flushing....

Plants use the nutrient solution which is what "changes" them out. When a nutrient solution is well balanced your plants will continue to uptake until the nutrient/water combo until it is depleted....

Got more questions hit up the FAQ on the CCH2O website....or call the CC guys.

TheBioMaster · Sep 27, 2010

Thats exactly my question, the nutrient/water combo is never depleted if you dont flush so the plants continue to uptake and never use up what is stored up. So how do you finish without a flush?

The other thing they recomend is not to change out the nutrients. I dont understand this either. So what if the system is efficient? You will still deplete vital ions needed among other reasons that deal with salt build ups. Also the grow spurts you get from change outs is amazing!

Did you change the nutrient tank often SH during this last grow?

UCMENOW · Sep 27, 2010

New Paradigm

Plants will completely consume a nutrient solution if it stays balanced......most growers mix nutrients too strong, causing excess salts to build up, which ultimately inhibits water uptake, slowing plant metabolism.

IMO...This "burst" of growth you experience after a res change is likely the result of the plants up-taking water and growing as a result.

Call and talk to Daniel if you're interested in learning more about this style of growing....he'll explain it better than I.

motherlode · Sep 27, 2010

I dont think its recommended that you "not" change out the nutes, just that you have to do it less often

UCMENOW · Sep 27, 2010

motherlode said:
I dont think its recommended that you "not" change out the nutes, just that you have to do it less often

Word

Jalisco Kid · Sep 27, 2010

You can not run a rcdwc and not do rez changes without doing leaf and water samples. You would have no clue what is going on. It will unbalance your nute intake,some macos/minor elements need each other for better uptake.

SH I would run that system hot with some naccosan for a few days,then water for 1 day to flush well. I would then had some bennies to your nutes.

Johnny Favorite · Sep 29, 2010

Hey SH.....firstly, mad props on your design skills. I love your set-up and am currently designing a slightly scaled-down version for myself. I am planning on using five 9" flexair diffusers, one for each of four plants plus the fifth one in the reservoir. You mentioned that your dual AP-100's were a bit (or a lot!) overkill, using one to power 3 discs and the other to power 4 discs......so the $64K question is: based on your experience do you think I only need a single AP-80 to power my five discs? I am an engineer and I do tend toward overdesigning and money is not particularly an issue for me BUT I don't want to use an AP-100 to power five discs only to have to bleed off a substantial amount of air. I would be hugely appreciative to hear your thoughts on this, now that you have some firsthand experience under your belt.

Johnny Favorite · Sep 30, 2010

Howdy y'all.....long-time lurker, first-time poster....

Hey SH, mad props for your design skills. I'm planning on a slightly scaled-down version of your set-up and I'm hoping you can advise me on one small thing: you mentioned that using two AP-100 pumps was way overkill to power seven flexair 9" diffusers. Well, I'm planning on using five of the same 9" diffusers: one for each of my four plants plus one in the reservoir. As an engineer I happily tend toward "over designing"; however, at the same time I don't want a too-powerful pump so that I have to bleed off a lot of excess air. What do you recommend for my five 9" flexair diffusers? Would a single AP-60 or AP-80 do the trick? What about an equivalent Alita pump which seems to be highly rated. Would love to hear your thoughts on this, thanks.

sky high · Sep 30, 2010

yo johnnay!

One Ap-100 running 7 of the 9" diffusers puts out a nice flow of bubbles so I would think an AP-80 would serve you well. As someone who also likes to oversize...and if price isn't too high a factor on the list.....an AP-100 and a 3/4" inline ball valve will do the same thing and give you room to expand down the line.

heard good things about Alita. I just found a decent (i thought) price on the PM and wanted to get it running rather than fret over this/that brand/etc. Fookin PM's rock, for sure. no complaints here.

post a thread/pics when ya start building. good luck!

s h

CelticEBE · Oct 5, 2010

SkyHi

Quick question for ya. I plan on doing a DIY UC and was wondering two things.

Whats a good ratio of water to air input? In other words how many liters of air to gallons of water in the entire system.

What ratio of water flow should there be? Say my system will have 250 gallons in 11 modules. What size pump should I use.

I plan on using the 27 gallon totes from home depot that most people have been using for MPB's. I have been following a few UC threads and noticed that even in the 13gallon modules the roots tend to fill up. My thinking is that the extra 14 gallons in the module will provide a bit more room for circulation.

Eager to hear your thoughts.

sky high · Oct 6, 2010

Sounds interesting, Celtic. Gotta say I really have no answers/ideas for ya on what yer trying to do. I basically just upsized everything over what CC was doing and let it rip here.

My system is sitting empty and taking up vital space @ present as I have no clones ready to put into it. Everything I already had going is in soil/coco/etc. and the clones i took are taking their sweet time rooting up to a size I can put in a system this large.

Dunno what I'm gonna do @ this point as my coco plants in the same space are gonna be ready to flower in a few weeks...far too soon for this system to catch up and hit flower at the same time. As it's looking now I may just cover it up with flood trays and hit the coco hard for a run....if i don't dissassemble it altogether.

good luck!

RMCG · Oct 6, 2010

I'm running a AP-40 in 27g tubs + 18g epicenter.

Just picked up a Sweetwater regenerative blower for an upcoming 10 site system...

Puts out 13CFM @ 20".

DoubleDs was running 5 HiBlo 120's in his 14 site MPB system.

Giddeon · Oct 6, 2010

RMCG said:
Just picked up a Sweetwater regenerative blower for an upcoming 10 site system...

Puts out 13CFM @ 20".

DoubleDs was running 5 HiBlo 120's in his 14 site MPB system.

Damn those are "sweet" haha, how loud is something like that seems it would be quieter than a air pump no???

RMCG · Oct 6, 2010

Giddeon said:
Damn those are "sweet" haha, how loud is something like that seems it would be quieter than a air pump no???

Check page 5/6 of my thread.

I posted a vid of one ~3x the size of mine, may post up a quick one of mine under no load.

Sounds like a jet turbine while it ramps up, then its not too bad.

Giddeon · Oct 6, 2010

RMCG said:
Check page 5/6 of my thread.

I posted a vid of one ~3x the size of mine, may post up a quick one of mine under no load.

Sounds like a jet turbine while it ramps up, then its not too bad.

sounds kind of like a vacuum while its running but seems to work damn good.

TheBioMaster · Oct 22, 2010

I thought running Zone in the UC was recomended, or running a sterile system in general. Why do you guys say Zone is not recomended for use in a UC system?

Peace!

RMCG · Oct 22, 2010

Who is saying that?

DIY - Over, Under, Sideways, Down...Sky High builds an Under Current knockoff

DIY - Over, Under, Sideways, Down...Sky High builds an Under Current knockoff

HappyGrower

Socachi

TheBioMaster

UCMENOW

TheBioMaster

UCMENOW

motherlode

@Rolln_J

UCMENOW

Jalisco Kid

Guest

Johnny Favorite

Johnny Favorite

sky high

CelticEBE

sky high

RMCG

Giddeon

RMCG

Giddeon

TheBioMaster

RMCG

DIY - Over, Under, Sideways, Down...Sky High builds an Under Current knockoff

DIY - Over, Under, Sideways, Down...Sky High builds an Under Current knockoff

HappyGrower

Socachi

TheBioMaster

UCMENOW

TheBioMaster

UCMENOW

motherlode

@Rolln_J

UCMENOW

Jalisco Kid

Guest

Johnny Favorite

Johnny Favorite

sky high

CelticEBE

sky high

RMCG

Giddeon

RMCG

Giddeon

TheBioMaster

RMCG

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